My 06' 1500 5.7 4x4 Quad Cab is about to turn 95,000 miles. Truck is totally stock. No suspension or tire upgrades. Factory 20" wheels and tires. Never plowed or towed anything. Never gone offroading (boring, huh?). Anyhow, i notice on the road i have a slight bit of play in the steering wheel on bumps. If i hold the wheel tight and hit a bump, you can feel that their is slack somewhere in the front end because you can feel it in the steering wheel.

Are these the Tie Rod ends wearing out? Or is this a control arm issue? I have driven other peoples Rams with a huge amount of front end play, this is very minor on my truck, but i am not against replacing the worn parts now if it's not a huge job. My truck is going in for new shocks next week anyhow, i figured why not have them replace whatever is going on the front end too. I just would like to know your thoughts on what it might be before the mechanic tells me it's something worse.

 

my first thought are the ties rods.

check out rockauto.com and finds some moog parts

 

Just got the truck back from the shop. It was the left side Tie Rod end. I asked if he should do the right side as well and he said it was fine. I would have to agree since the noise and feeling is gone and i would have thought he would have wanted to do the work and make more money if he thought it was nessecary.

 

I tend to replace them in pairs, unless one goes prematurely. The reason is an alignment should be done after replacing a tie rod end and I'd hate to turn around a couple months down the road and have to replace the other one and pay for an alignment all over again...

 

I mentioned the alignment, but he was doing one anyhow because he did front struts as well. Seeing as i got 95,000 out of the pair and the right one is showing no signs of play. If it lasts another year, i wont mind another alignment. This winter i am sure will leave so many potholes ill need one anyhow.

 

I don't know where you guys get your work done, but at Firestone where I work we offer a lifetime alignment service. Pay a 1 time higher fee and then we'll align it for free for the life of the vehicle or check it for free if you feel your tires are wearing unevenly. Just an FYI